Unmarked Ninjas
by Dragonn
Summary: Two ninjas appear at Konoha bearing no insignia. Their purpose is unknown and suspicions rise throughout the village.
1. Chapter 1

Laughter echoed throughout the village of Konoha as children began running out to play. Classes were all cancelled for the day for unknown reasons. Normally, this wasn't a situation to be taken lightly, but children didn't notice.

The sun hung low in the sky as morning broke. Listening to the sounds outside of children learning of their holiday and adults setting about their daily jobs, Naruto rose from his bed, slowly opening his eyes. Quickly, he threw on his usual clothing and grabbed a light breakfast before running out the door. _I have a lot of training to do…_ he thought as he made his way to the forest where he usually did his training.

He stopped short, just before he reached his clearing. Someone was waiting for him; he could feel it. Dodging behind a tree, he peered around. He let out a sigh of relief as he realized that there was no danger in this intrusion. He walked into the clearing, grumbling, "What are you doing here, Perverted Hermit?" afraid that he was going to be dragged away for more _research._

Jiraiya subtly rolled his eyes at the title, but smiled down at Naruto. "I've got a task for you," he said, awkwardly cheery. Hearing the moan before it even came, he added, "No, not my usual research. Don't worry. I've been asked to…meet up with a couple of travelers, and figured there wouldn't be any harm in taking you with me."

"A mission?" Naruto asked gleefully. He had been kept from going on any missions recently, his elders fearing that the Nine-Tailed Fox inside his was just one more battle away from being freed. It always seemed so close, and they weren't willing to take chances.

Jiraiya shrugged. "I guess you could call it that. Now hurry up and follow me." He turned and walked away into the trees, Naruto following closely.

They walked silently for several minutes before Naruto looked up at Jiraiya and asked, "Do you know why everyone's classes have been cancelled today?"

The _Perverted Hermit_ looked down and shrugged. "That's what we're finding out. They wouldn't be closed unless there was some sort of threat detected." He saw Naruto's uneasy look and added, "I doubt it's much. They're just being careful. They know two travelers are headed into the village, that's all. We're just gonna check things out." They stopped shortly after the conversation at Konoha's boundaries and waited.

…and waited…

and waited……

and…well…you get the idea.

Naruto, who had wound up sprawled on the ground, turned his head so that he could see his trainer's feet. "Jiraiya," he moaned, "how long are we going to wait here? I'm getting hungry." As if to emphasize this statement, his stomach let out a large grumble.

"Oh, be quiet. They'll be here soon enough."

"That's what you said two hours ago, Perverted Hermit."

Refusing to start up an argument with the kid, Jiraiya just grumbled and continued to stare down the path.


	2. Chapter 2

Over the hill came two travelers cast in a silhouette. They were around the same height, fairly tall, and fairly noisy as laughter tumbled down the path in an announcement of their presence. When they drew out of their darkened figures, two women stood before Naruto and Jiraiya. The taller one was light in skin with blond hair held back with dark blue ribbons to match her eyes. The shorter, but only by half an inch, was darker in skin with dark eyes. Their hair was formed into a multitude of braids, though only the darker one's took on an appearance of scorpion-tail stingers. This darker one was clad in red with symbols of fire written on her hair band. Yet, she was the one most light-hearted amongst the two.

Naruto gazed at them curiously, or more dumbfounded really. They definitely did not seem to be of any sort of danger, and when he looked over at Jiraiya, he received only a shrug. The two stood up as they approached, and a gentle air of tension drew between them. "Please move aside," the darker one requested. Their faces were stern now, and they could see more closely their features, for upon their faces sat tattoos of scorpions and dragons. While the lighter one seemed from afar completely helpless, that dragon upon her face proved otherwise.

However, Jiraiya simply shook his head at the two and smiled. "Not without knowing by what means you are here, or your names, or any other personal information you might give us so that we may disclose it to any third party vendors." He snickered at their glares and gently raised an apologetic hand. "Of course, if you wish not to, you could always go away."

This time, the blond spoke up. "Listen, we have business with your...Hokage. It is of no importance to you or your little...child, here what our names are or our whereabouts."

"Oh, now you've done it..." mumbled Naruto as he cast them a glare. But, before he could do anything stupid, Jiraiya had him held in a headlock.

"Really, now? Then why is it that you carry that particular forehead protector?" he inquired towards the konoha-marked insignia with a deep scratch across it. "One, we would know any of our own kind who had once bore that symbol, and two, we would know if that person had betrayed us."

"My name is Hitomi, if you must know, and this is neither mine nor Akane's." Hitomi threw the band at Jiraiya's feet and made her way past him. "Now, if you'll excuse us, we must speak with your Hokage." Akane followed and swept the band up off the ground, seeing as it was their only piece of evidence.

"I don't see why you're so angry with them, Hitomi. They were only trying to make sure we weren't going to attack the village."

"Really, Akane? Did it ever occur to you that perhaps their Hokage knew why we came here and wished us to be scared away? Their Hokage is a coward." Akane sighed at her friend's remark, and just shook her head. Only time would tell if what she spoke was true, so their first task must be to speak to the Hokage.

Jiraiya and Naruto stared after the two for a moment, and then quickly caught up. "Well, at least let us guide you in. You won't be met with friendly faces if you appear out of the blue." They walked but a few strides ahead of Akane and Hitomi and led them into the Konoha, the Hidden Leaf Village.

People everywhere stopped what they were doing to take notice of them. For, what Jiraiya and Naruto had missed proved to be the one thing they were afraid of. Their forehead protectors bore no insignia. They were Ninjas, but not from any recognized village. Any such village was either an enemy of the rest, or a spy agency from one of the villages. Since these two were unknown to any of these villagers, neither could be good. 


	3. Chapter 3

The two had been barred from any meeting with the Hokage. "Go figure," mumbled Akane as she rolled her eyes at the villagers. She had known they wouldn't be trusted, but like Hitomi, also wouldn't rest well until everything was settled out. As for now, however, they would have to wait and gain the trust of Konoha. 

The villagers gathered around the group in a massive blob. Jiraiya tried shoving people out of their way as Akane shouted at young men about invading her personal space. "You see this?" she asked them as she stretched her hands around her in an arc. "THIS is my PERSONAL BUBBLE!"

"Not again..." Hitomi chuckled lightly, knowing these men were in for it.

"DO NOT POP THE BUBBLE!!!!" As she screamed, a silence fell over the crowd and they inched away, slowly...then ran. Or hid, really. Akane, however, just smiled and rubbed her hands together. "Now, then! Since that's settled, where's that Hokage!"

"I'm afraid you still won't be meeting with her," said a voice, chuckling, from the shadows. And among the appearance of him, Akane's eyes grew wide and smiling.

Kiba walked out from the darkened Ramen stand with Akamaru on his shoulder. "You like dogs?"

"Uh huh..." Akane said and walked over to pet Akamaru. "Aww! He's so CUTE!!!!" And within seconds, she was snuggling the dog to her cheek. "HITOMI!!! LOOK! HE'S SUCH A CUTEY!"

Hitomi blinked dimly, wondering what in the name of all that was soft and fluffy had come over her friend and teammate. "Akane, I hate to tell you this, but..." she reached out and took Akamaru. "YOU'RE RIGHT! awwww...he's such a sweety..."

By now, Kiba, Jiraiya, and Naruto were staring with open mouths at the scene of the two girls who had caused so much fuss and were now playing with Kiba's dog. Of course, Akamaru seemed to enjoy the attention, doing flips and fetching for the two. "What's up with them?" Naruto finally asked the other two.

"I..have NO idea..." Kiba replied, watching Akane curiously. "One question of my own, though. If they're not leaving until they meet with the Hokage, and nobody's allowing them to see her, then where are they gonna stay?"

"They could stay with ME!" Naruto offered all too quickly, receiving a large pounding as a result.

"Really, Naruto. Be serious."

"I was being serious," he grumbled under his breath as he rubbed the large lump on his head.

"Well, there ARE those empty homes in the old Uchiha clan..." Jiraiya said softly, contemplating the idea of sticking a couple of potential enemies into the home of Sasuke's family.

"Umm..that might be a ba-"

"It'll be perfect!" Jiraiya finally stated. "Those homes need someone living in them. It'll be good for them."

The two girls, realizing their oddities after several minutes, regained themselves and handed the happy Akamaru back to Kiba. "I'm terribly sorry," Akane said, "we haven't even learned your names and we're already taking things."

An awkward silence spread between them.

"ugh! Not like we'd be taking anything ANYWAY! But..URGH!"

"It's okay. I'm Kiba Inuzuka, and this is Naruto Uzumaki, and Jiraiya."

"A.K.A. The Perverted Hermit," Naruto added, receiving yet another bop upon the head.

"Well, we've made some arrangements on where you may stay during your...visit. The Uchiha clan..has..well..there's some empty homes up that way that you may stay in," Jiraiya said as he pointed toward the walls bearing the insignia of the Uchiha clan.

"Thank you," Hitomi said as they walked off toward the homes.

* * *

Well, I know my chapters are fairly short. But, I can only write so much at once. And, since SOMEONE I know likes them quickly, it just means my chapters are fairly shorter. Well, I also like to write in segments by scenes. I'm just weird like that! Now..PLEASE GIVE ME COMMENTS!!!! I really hate resorting to begging, but I can't make my story any better if you people aren't giving me FEEDBACK! TT 


	4. Chapter 4

Sasuke sat in his home, alone as usual. And, quite frankly, he preferred it that way. He didn't have that lame shame-to-Konoha Naruto following him, always trying to show him up and such. Sakura was off fighting with Ino over him, most likely. "Too bad all that fighting is over nothing," he spoke softly to himself, snickering lightly. As he stared out the window, however, he caught two girls walking into the Uchiha clan's housing as if they owned the place. "And what do they think they are doing, invading these troubled homes?"

Within seconds, if it was even that long, he was standing in front of the two, glaring at them intently as if expecting an answer to an un-asked question. They stopped, their braids swishing with the abrupt change. "May we help you?" they asked in unison.

"I should be asking the same thing," Sasuke retorted, his eyes narrowing dangerously at their forehead protectors. "What is it you want here?"

Akane moved forward, knowing Hitomi would probably just beat him on the spot, no questions asked, to answer, "Well, we came to speak with the Hokage, but we've been declined temporarily. So, while we await for her readiness, we've been invited to stay in one of these homes."

"Not by me, you haven't." His voice was more and more firm with every statement, and his appearance held the readiness for battle.

It was Hitomi's turn. "Well, honestly, that's too bad. We mean no harm or offense to the dead here. We just need a place to stay. By the way, I think you forgot this," she said as she handed the forehead protector back to Sasuke. This angered him, and by impulse shot a large trail of fire at her.

Hitomi quickly leapt out of the line of fire, delivering a deep sidekick to his back. "Oh, so YOU'RE the one that wants to fight. Gotcha…"

Akane sighed, and tried to avert the issue. Though, having been left in the line of fire tampered with her temper. Without any further thought, she quickly through her hands together, muttering words under her breath. This jutsu was known only to her, and would remain that way if she had anything to say about it. Out of nowhere appeared a large fan built of flames. The tips reached out to Sasuke as she swung it through the air.

Catching her queue as being okay to go, Hitomi threw lightning darts at Sasuke one after the other. They flew by him purposefully, more as a warning than anything else. And, as he finally regained his composure and drew out his shuriken, Hitomi put an end to the fight with a swift backfist to his head, knocking him unconscious. She sighed and pulled him up onto her shoulder, in an effort to bring him into one of the nearby houses. Unfortunately, she was mistaken as being hostile and Sasuke was swept off her shoulder in a blur.

Before her stood an older man, definitely older than she, with gray hair and a mask that covered most of his face. He slung Sasuke over his green vest effortlessly and spoke in a drowsy tone, as if he had just been awakened from a long afternoon nap. "I'm sorry, Miss, but I really can't allow people to go around beating up my pupils."

"Ex-_CUSE_ me??? We're beating him up?" Akane's bubble had been popped. "HE attacked US! On more than one occasion, mind you! And now you're telling us that we did wrong in not letting him barbecue us?!? ARE YOU CRAZY, YOU FILTHY MAN!?"

"Well, considering what I saw, Sasuke really didn't seem to have much of a chance. Of course, had you found him on a better day, you would have been barbecued to tender crispiness. Yum. Just the way I like my chicken!." His one visible feature smiled greatly, but returned quickly to its stern setting.

"Oh you did NOT just call me a chicken!" Hitomi ran at him, caught by Akane's hand and held in place, despite her biggest efforts.

"I would never suspected such childish behavior from Ninja such as yourselves, unless of course you happened to be Naruto. But seeing as you are not, I really do find this excess play rather impolite. So, we'll get right down to it. I do not easily allow hardly welcomed visitors to go waltzing around the village and knocking my students into unconsciousness. So, if you don't mind," his hand grew bright with lighting as he shouted, "CHIDORI!"

The large ball of lightning flew towards Hitomi at a quick rate. Akane stood back, afraid to get caught up in this mess. And, just as the jutsu would have destroyed the young female ninja, a large broadsword of lightning swirled about in her hands. In the moment of chaos, she had taken the liberty of appearing behind Kakashi with the sword held by his neck. "I dare you to call me a chicken one more time…" she threatened in a deadly tone.

"Oh, I see. You're from the Hidden Cloud Village. It all makes sense now."


	5. Chapter 5

The two girls lay unconscious on the ground as Sakura stood over Akane with a shoe and Naruto over Hitomi with his large pack. By Hitomi lay a once-concealed Kunai knife, probably what she had used to conduct such a large amount of electricity. Kakashi looked down at the two before finally tending to Sasuke. Now he would rest comfortably in bed.

Naruto examined them closer now, since they weren't lashing back at anyone at the moment. The two were about as opposite in appearance as they were alike in behavior. Hitomi wore mostly blue, with a small tank top and baggy pants. Over the pants, she wore a tie-around skirt embroidered with the symbol of water. However, Akane was clad in red, with red tank top, pants, and gloves, with a black shrug and her hair band was embroidered with the symbol of fire. What was even more confusing was that Kakashi-sensei had identified them as both being from the Hidden Cloud Village, known for their lighting jutsu and had been destroyed when they broke a peace treaty with Konoha (or so he had heard).

When Kakashi had returned, Sakura was the first to bat him with questions. "How do you know they're from the Hidden Cloud Village? Why are they here? Weren't they destroyed years ago? WHAT IS GOING ON!?!?!?" It was quite clear she was frustrated, and underneath was hidden question of whether or not Sasuke would be alright.

Chuckling, Kakashi just shook his head. "One at a time, Sakura. And, unfortunately, I can only answer one of those questions. I can tell they're from the Hidden Cloud Village simply from the way they use the lightning jutsu. It's quite clear what we saw was only a sample of what they're capable of. And while we're not sure of why they're here, I do believe they are here on peaceful terms. Though, it would be wise not to aggravate them."

Naruto nodded with a "hmph" and a still-confused face. They didn't seem all that strong to him. "I bet I could take 'em on any day," he whispered to himself as he followed Kakashi and Sakura.

"Are you sure we should just leave them there on the ground, Sensei?" Sakura asked, looking back at the two girls. "If they're here on peaceful terms like you said, wouldn't it be nice to get them somewhere comfortable?"

Kakashi simply raised a finger and said pointedly, "Death be to those who stick their hands in the mouth of a rabid dog."

Naruto and Sakura stopped walking for a moment, lost in confusion. "…the hell?" slipped out of Naruto's mouth and they continued walking.

Meanwhile, Jiraiya was currently being reprimanded by several parents over his unwise decision to allow such dangerous people into the village. None of them knew from where they came, nor did they really wish to find out.

"HOW COULD YOU JUST LET THEM WALTZ RIGHT IN!?" screamed one over a rather annoyed Chouji.

"And did you SEE that commotion by the Uchiha homes?" shouted another over an embarrassed Shikamaru.

"Okay, okay. I made a mistake, but they-"

"Darn RIGHT you made a mistake!" said Ino's father. "Now, maybe you should just walk over a cliff, you perverted 'tard!"

"WHAT is going ON!?" shouted an infuriated Kakashi. "Don't get angry at Jiraiya for this. He couldn't have known that these girls would be such a hassle and possible danger to Konoha. Now, I have it that these girls are here on peaceful terms. The commotion you saw was just a misunderstanding and I'm doubtful that another will happen."

"Easy for you to say, Kakashi. You're always so cool about everything," said Lee's father, angry that once again it was KAKASHI that came to the rescue and not him.

"Please, I know you're all u-"

"Don't_ 'please'_ us! Those are clearly high-level ninja! How can you expect us to just let our children continue here with out being killed. Peaceful terms or no, I won't have it."

"You're right. They shouldn't have to walk in their own home with fear. That's why we should welcome them in a friendly manner and not aggravate them."

"ARE YOU KIDDING!?"

"No."

"DAD! SHUT UP!" screamed Shikamaru, finally. It was so troublesome to have parents that did nothing but worry. They would be fine. And if not, then oh well. At least he wouldn't have to take any more exams. He and his team left, the remaining group stunned at his outburst.

"Well, now that that's been resolved, how 'bout some Ramen on me!" Jiraiya offered, breaking the silence.

Akane grunted and she stood up, rubbing her head. "Owww…." Looking around, she realized that she and Hitomi had been knocked out for a while. Hitomi, now rising, had a large imprint on the side of her face from having fallen on the handle of a kunai knife. She rubbed at the spot, annoyed at the feel of it.

"Stupid people…Why didn't I just cut his head off?" she asked angrily.

"Because, like most people, you still know when something's too brash."

"Well, that didn't give them any right to hit me…my head really hurts!"

"Whatever, Hitomi. Let's just go find something to eat."

* * *

_Sooo...sorry if this chapter is a little...weird (?). haha.. But, PLEASE give me comments. I feel stupid just writing and not getting much feedback! Oh well...I guess I'll just go kill everyone's favorite characters...haha.. just kidding! Seriously, though. _

_ Anyway, yeah. This one was just a bunch of talking, and the ending was pretty lame, I know. I'll make up for it next update, I swear!  
_


	6. Chapter 6

Alone in an all-you-can-eat restaurant, Shikamaru, Chouji, and Ino sat eating slowly and discussing what was going on. Obviously, these two girls posed a potential threat. Otherwise, there wouldn't be so much uproar over them. Kakashi had said they were from the Hidden Cloud Village. But, they all knew the village had been beaten years ago when they broke their peace treaty with Konoha.

"So, why do you think they came here?" Chouji asked through a mouth full of food.

"Revenge, maybe?" Ino suggested, recalling her former education of the village.

"No, I don't believe so," Shikamaru said. He took a quick drink and then continued. "If they were here for revenge, they would have already attempted it. Yes, they got into a fight, but I don't believe it was of vengeance. Otherwise, they'd either be dead, packing, or we'd all be dead. If anything, they're here for diplomatic purposes."

"But, what diplomatic purposes are there?"

"Well, that could be just about anything. They could be here for a renewed peace treaty. They could be here to announce war as messengers. They could be here to play poker with the Hokage, for all I know."

The doors chimed, interrupting the conversation. Walking past the team were the two in question.

Hitomi flashed the three a look, getting the idea that she and Akane were the topic of discussion. The theory was confirmed when a deadening silence fell over the restaurant. _We can't be THAT scary, can we? _she thought to herself as she scouted for empty seats. The pair sat down in the first empty booth available, and with another look from Akane, the silence relieved itself and they were shrouded in common gossip and laughter.

Ino turned around in her seat to look at the two, talking just as cheerily as everyone else here. Looking at them now, she didn't think they were here for revenge, either. "Hey!" she called to them happily. She waved at the blond one, who was the first to look.

"Hi," she said solemnly. Hitomi was more afraid of causing unnecessary conflicts right now, though she knew how she appeared to everyone else.

"My name's Ino. And these two here are Chouji and Shikamaru," she said, signaling out the other two, causing a disgruntled look on Shikamaru's face.

"I'm Hitomi. And this here is Akane. Did you need something?" Hitomi asked, getting the idea from Shikamaru's expression that this conversation was not highly looked upon.

"Um, well. Not really..."

"Great. Then-" Akane tried saying, a little grumpy.

"But, now that you mention it!" Ino interjected. "My team and I were wondering what it was you two were doing in Konoha."

Shikamaru slapped his face and drew his hand slowly down as he tried to comprehend the stupidity of his team mate. You don't just waltz right up to a source of danger and try to make small talk with it. Doing so could result in-

Akane smiled up at her now, respecting her curiosity. "We just need to speak with the Hokage about something. Think of it like...advice."

Well, he definitely didn't expect that. "I guess our parents were really overreacting after all," he muttered before he gave a choking Chouji a smack on the back to save him.

* * *

**Yes...this chapter is REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY short! I KNOW! I know I promised you all a LOT more than this, but I just can't right now. I needed to update, so I put in what I already had worked out. I'm currently dealing with the usual high schooler's life. Homework, stress, friend conflicts, stress, parents being annoying, and more stress, preparation for the Art show, oh and did I mention STRESS!?!?!!? ahhh!!!! I'm going to go die now or something. . **

** Dragonn**


	7. Chapter 7

Several days had passed in Konoha now as Hitomi and Akane worked to prove to the villagers that they meant no harm. They spent most of their days helping out at the school, training students in simple techniques. Every now and then, they received the opportunity to show off, and when they got wind of a major competition coming up, it took no time for them register.

The hall was packed of ninja of all ages, assuming that they were, of course, at least Chuunin level. Hitomi peered over several heads, being amongst the taller ninja, with Akane to see how much longer they would have to wait. "Oh, joy," Hitomi muttered as she noted that the wait would probably take most of the day.

Several hours had passed by the time they started drawing closer, and Hitomi had finally settled on sitting against a wall and keeping an eye on Akane for when they moved up. Every now and then she'd doze off before she was jarred awake by someone's rowdiness. When she wasn't sleeping, she was scouting out the competition. She easily spotted Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji. And at the same time, she felt someone tapping her shoulder.

Before she had time to react, she was mobbed by a ninja with flat black hair and, well, rather large eyebrows. "I am the beautiful green beast!" he exclaimed, causing an awkward look to come over her face before she started laughing. "What? Do I have something on me? Is Sakura here?" She shook her head and asked him what he wanted. "Well, you seem to be an unfamiliar face, and therefore a traveler to Konoha. I like to check out my competition beforehand."

"Well, go check out some competition over there, because I do not appreciate being looked over," Hitomi retorted, trying to sound serious.

"I've already scouted out most of these other ninja! Besides, I've heard you know something about that battle everyone saw about a week ago. You must be a pretty strong ninja if you were involved with it!" The ninja seemed like a child in the awkward green garb and excitement at the strength of his competitor.

"More than you'd ever know," she muttered as she stood and walked back to Akane, as the line was finally coming to an end for the two. "Hey, Akane! Sorry for ditching you!" she said with an innocent smile, receiving a scowl.

"Oh, yes. Thank you for bestowing me the _honor_ of waiting in line for FIVE HOURS while you slept," she grumbled, clearly all sarcasm. "Who's your friend?"

"ROCK LEE!!!" came the voice of the bushy-browed kid Hitomi had been talking to before. Akane laughed as her friend's face drooped, then took on a familiar face as she started waving her hand over her eyebrows.

"Uhh…hi! Hitomi, why are his eyebrows so….HUGE!?" she muttered out of the side of her mouth, receiving only a shrug.

"NAME!" came an all-too-amazing voice. The two let out a sigh of relief as they had been not only saved from this weird creature, but their torturous wait had finally come to an end. Akane turned and delivered their answers. "Akane and Hitomi."

"These are separate entries, correct?"

"Uhh..yyeaaahhhh….." she looked at him like he was a moron.

"Very good. Village?"

Akane opened her mouth to speak, but Hitomi beat her to the punch. "That information, sir, shall remain confidential. Of course, I'm sure you already know anyway, being the genius you've proven yourself to be thus far."

The man looked at her, revealing nothing but a blank stare from one uncovered eye. He sighed, and quickly jotted down a note on the papers before continuing. "Rank? And yes, you must answer this."

Akane thought about this for a minute. They had never actually managed to establish much ranking in their village since the dispute with this one. Granted, that was before her time, but they had tried to reestablish themselves at some point, giving Akane and Hitomi the ranks of Chuunin. So, she'd go with that. "Chuunin." The man looked as if he were about ready to make a remark, but decided against it. Instead, he simply took the registration fee from her and stamped a few papers.

With a smile, he added, "Be ready to fight in three days."

The three days passed with excessive training for most of the village. Everyone was training with their Sensei or with friends. Hitomi and Akane preferred to go out to the border of the village, by the river. They had done everything from simple stretches to entirely blowing each other into the water, quite literally. When the time came for the tournament, Hitomi had already managed to acquire a black eye and a few scars across her arm and Akane's arms had what looked to be sunburns on them and the tips of her braids had become charred. The other competitors glanced at them warily as they filed in for the event to begin, unsure of whether this was to be taken as a strength or a weakness.

The rules were reviewed, mostly for the duo's sake, and the competition began. First up was a girl name Hinata, facing a rather cruel opponent from some other village. Though, despite his big talk, the seemingly feeble Hinata had still managed to beat him. Though, she would probably have to recuperate before another fight.

The day grew long, and it became apparent to Hitomi and Akane that they were being saved for the final few matches of the day. So, they sat up in the competitor's balcony, watching other fights and making commentary. "That kick was horrible! 30 pushups!" and "ooo..that's gotta hurt! Hope he was wearing a cup!"

Shikamaru watched them from a distance as he talked to a blond kid whose name seemed to be Naruto and the guy Hitomi and Akane had gotten into a fight with before. "They are so immature. And I can't believe I thought they were a danger." Hitomi watched them out of the corner of her eye, knowing they were doing the same, as she conversed with Akane. Suddenly Akane was tugging on her arm, shoving her over the edge of the railing.

"You're up!" she shouted at her friend, sending her to face her first opponent—Ino.

"Well, this should be fun!" Hitomi exclaimed excitedly to her opponent as the match began. She received only a scowl, to her satisfaction. Then she got serious. The two circled each other cautiously, then Ino's face went blank. Hitomi stopped, and before she could think, knew exactly what had happened. She was being controlled. "Hey, look at me! I'm an immature slut!" she heard herself say, causing her to become fairly angry inside.

Akane looked at the scene, knowing Hitomi would only put up with that for so long. Well, actually, she wouldn't put up with that, and knew that Ino had just signed her life away. And, sure enough, there was her control over Hitomi fading.

Ino's eyes opened, almost as enraged as Hitomi was. "I _DARE_ you to call me that again!" she shouted at Ino, coming at her with fist full of fury. The crowd Oo-ed as Ino was knocked into the ground by the punch. Her nose was now bleeding, and she was covered in the dirt.

"Oh, I will! You're an immature slut who only knows how to get into fights!" Shikamaru heard his teammate and wished he was strangling her right now. He regretted underestimating this girl, seeing that Ino was on a one-way track to losing, or being killed.

Hitomi struggled to not lose control over herself. She knew things would get iffy if she went straight into a ball of lightning. But one more comment and she knew it would be over. She treaded lightly, waiting to see if there was some sort of trap Ino was trying to lead her into.

"Ooo! Look at me! I'm Hitomi and I don't know how to dress myself!"

Hitomi blinked. "That was the most retarded insult I've heard in my life. And for the record, stay the hell out of my head." She'd kill Ino just for being stupid at this point.

The referee took the moment to interfere. "Ladies, if you don't mind, you ARE expected to..well…fight. Not start a catfight."

"Rightyo!" Hitomi responded with a thumbs up before turning back to Ino. She threw her hands together, making a symbol, and appeared behind Ino with an arm around her neck. If everything went accordingly,--

Ino flipped Hitomi over, receiving a kick to the stomach that sent her flying. As she landed on the ground, she found lightning raining from the sky around her. "Oh, I see how it is," she muttered, using a replacement jutsu to relocate herself.

"Ugh, I've had enough of this," Hitomi muttered as she pulled out a shuriken and lit it afire with lightning. The weapon went racing at Ino as she turned around.

"Enough!" a shout came from somewhere and the match was ended. Ino was out cold, but Hitomi knew she'd be okay. Instead, she focused her attention on Tsunade, sitting high up looking down on her. She gave the Hokage a glance that she hoped conveyed her message.


	8. Chapter 8

Tsunade had sat through most of it in a business-like manner. The teasing between the two had been fairly entertaining, if not immature. However, this foreign girl would not get her revenge in this manner. It was not Ino who was guilty, after all. She sighed and gave a nod to the referee. 

"And the winner is...Hitomi!" he called to the crowd, whose responses varied. Several cheered, but others named Hitomi a cheater, lying about her rank. Hitomi, however, kept her head high. They could call her what they wanted, but she knew that it was merely out of the village's skepticism of her intentions.

A couple of ninjas pulled out a stretcher for Ino and brought her in the back to recupperate. She'd come to in a little while. However, the village was more concerned with the sudden appearance of two more ninja on the field. Their Hokage had begun yelling at Hitomi, and Akane had come in her defense.

"I'll not have you dealing out your village's revenge on innocent residents here!" screamed Tsunade,  
flicking at Hitomi's forehead.

"What do you mean, dealing out my village's revenge!? I was merely doing what the competition entails--FIGHTING! Whoever arranged these fights should have known better than to place her against me if you were gonna get all pissy about me beating her!" replied Hitomi with a strong jab at the Hokage's chest, making her falter.

"If what you think our village wants is revenge, you're terribly mistaken, Tsunade! We came under peaceful terms and here you and your village are, making a great ordeal out of it!" interjected Akane.

The referree quickly ran into the three fighting women. "LADIES! We are in the middle of a competition!  
If you would please finish this later, we only have a few more fights to go." Tsunade nodded, gave a sharp glance at the two, then retreated to her seat. "Now, then! Our next contestants will be.  
Akane vs Naruto Uzumaki!"

Hitomi smiled and gave Akane a friendly punch in the shoulder. "Go get 'im," she said as she left the arena and the annoyingly loud blond kid came down.

Naruto walked up to Akane, looking her up and down with critical eyes. "You don't look so tough!" he exclaimed, finally. "I can beat you..." He walked back to his side of the arena and waited for the ref to begin the fight.

"3...2...1! FIGHT!"

There was a loud crash and a flash of light. The dust rose around the field as the crowd heard yells and undecipherable words. Within the minute, silence stretched across the arena. The crowd didn't know who to cheer for, or who had won. The dust covered the two combatants like a heavy quilt of snow.  
Silently, Hitomi heard mixed wishes amongst the previous combatants. Hinata whispered into her cupped hands, quietly telling Naruto to be okay and win. However, she found Kiba rooting for Akane, mostly to "put that nuissance in his place." She got the idea he was still sore about a past encounter with the kid.

* * *

**Dragonn: Yay! I updated again! Woohoo! Yes, it's really short. I'm sick today, and since I didn't go to school, I decided to try to add more to the story. It's not really that great, though. Just people getting mad at each other. haha...oh wellllll...**


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